So...back when I was listening to a crap ton of Demi Lovato songs (literally second-third grade), I stumbled upon this song. Of course, I knew it, but it's the only one of her songs I listen to in the present time.
And naturally, with me making Naomi and Zane exist in Her Curse, I felt I finally had a frickin use for this song.
So.
*Claps*
I.
*Claps*
Made.
*Claps*
This.
*Claps*

     I sat on the edge of my chair, studying a book on magic I'd found. Originally, it'd been Zoe who got me into the subject of magic, but she hadn't decided to study it like I had. She and Rachel liked to joke that I was nearsighted because I studied it so much, but I was nearsighted long before middle school.
     At one of the most inconvenient times, my phone rang. I sighed in annoyance, but picked it up anyway, not bothering to check the number. "Hello?" I asked.
     "I seem to be lost." Zane's voice said. I tried to put up my best "yep, I'm in love with you" act like usual, but I could feel it slipping from me slightly. "Okay, where do you need directions to?" I asked, already knowing his answer because it was a pick-up line I was all to familiar with. "Your heart."
     I made a little half-hearted "aww" noise. "Look in your hands. It should be there." I said playfully. "Thanks Naomi." Zane chuckled into the microphone, and I felt myself smile. "No problem, but see you tomorrow, okay?"
     "Okay. Bye, love."
      "Bye."

     Sighing, I put the phone down, letting my head fall onto my book. I'd have to play him soon, stop associating myself with him, or I'd let myself get soft. Shaking my head briskly to clear my thoughts, I went back to studying, trying to give my mind something to do that wasn't wondering and worrying about the next day.

***

     I adjusted the left strap of my backpack as I walked up behind Rachel. She'd just come back from another trip, and I hadn't seen her in any of my classes. "Hey." I said. "Yo. So who's the lucky guy this time?" She replied. I'd been dating him for a few months, but the longer I dated him, the more I felt like I was digging myself a deeper hole. At first it'd been like normal, but as we went along, it became so much harder. Playing guys was usually easy for me, but this one...I knew he was a well known player, but I still wanted to play him, and I knew he didn't know I'd been breaking hearts since 7th grade.
     The problem was that not only did I feel like I was digging myself a deeper hole, I also got nervous around him. And I wasn't able to do the other things that made guys fall for me so easily...even simple things, like holding hands, resting my head on his shoulder, and playful kisses. It was so weird.
     "Zane. That one player." I replied to Rachel. "Oh, so you're playing a player? Does he know about you?" I shook my head. "Well that's nice." She replied as Zoe walked up. "My God, Grey is slow." She said in annoyance. "Like you, Nao."
     "Hey!" I flicked Zoe's shoulder, and she started laughing. Rachel and I started laughing too. "Wait a minute, isn't that...?" Rachel asked after a minute. "What?" I asked, looking at her. She was looking at something behind me, and Zoe was smirking a little. I could feel a presence behind me, so I turned, but I could feel myself freezing up the more I saw of the person behind me.
     Just my luck, it was Zane. "Hey, Naomi." He said. I almost blushed at the obvious affection in his voice. Even though I knew I was supposed to be playing him, I was nervous. And...embarrassed. God, I hoped I wasn't falling in love. "H-Hey." I stammered, smiling and waving a little. "Didn't see ya there." I chuckled a little bit.
     Zane smiled, and I felt all of my muscles lock. I couldn't move, and my face was stuck in this stupid grin. "I'll see you guys later, Grey just got out." Zoe said, followed by the sound of light footsteps leaving. "If you two wanna go home together, I can call you later, Naomi." Rachel offered. "Y-Yeah sure." I said, not fully comprehending what she was saying.
     "You're oddly nervous today, love." Zane said. I finally shook myself out of my trance-like state, "Sorry, today's just been weird."
     "Yeah, I get that." He replied, chuckling. "Anyway, like your friend said, do you wanna walk home together?"
     Get it together, Naomi. He's nothing more than any other boy. I said to myself, nodding. He smiled, and began walking, but he made sure I was following. Just...just take his hand. It's not that hard, right? You've held hands with boys before. I told myself, reaching for his hand. The tips of my fingers brushed against his palm, and I felt something I'd never felt before. It was as if something in my chest had ignited. Like the base of a fire that could be lit, but hadn't until I'd reached for his hand. And when it did, I jerked my hand away a little.
     "You okay?" He asked. His eyes seemed so sincere. It was hard to believe he was a player, but then again I guess that's why he was so good at it. "Yeah, just...again, weird day." I said, shaking my head and reaching for his hand again. But before I could touch his hand, I felt overwhelming fear invade me, and suddenly I couldn't do it. My hand dropped to my side, and I continued walking just a step behind him.

***

     Immediately once I got home, I leaned against the door and slid down the frame, not bothering to remove my backpack. "Hey, Naomi, you okay?" My older sister asked. "Yeah, just...really, really weird day." I said, pulling my knees to my chest and resting my forehead on my warm, tanned skin. "Wanna talk about it?" She asked, walking over to me.
     My older sister, Zara, and I had never really been close, in the usual use of the word. When we were younger, we used to fight a lot, but as we got older and she was holed up in her room more, we fought less. We started texting and calling instead of face to face interaction because she rarely left her room. And then she went off to college a few years ago. After that we'd become real close, I guess, even if we usually only talked over the phone. Her college had summer break way before my school did, though, so she was on break that day.
    "You know I play guys. Thank you for not telling mum and dad. But this one...I don't know, he's...different. Maybe it's because I'm trying to play a player, but every time I see him, I...I freeze up. I want to run and hide far away." I said, sighing. Zara sat down beside me. "Well are you afraid of him?"
     "N-No I don't think so. He's a good guy, well, without the player part. He just...I want to bolt whenever he's near me."
     "Hmm...now. Here's the million dollar question: do you want to paint your nails with me? To, you know, take your mind off it? And maybe you can act normal around him if you don't wear contacts and can't see him."
     "But then I can't see anything."
     "You have glasses. Either way. Do you want me to paint your nails or not?"
     "Um...sure? I have a lot of work though."
     "You're my little sister, I know how fast you can finish it. Now, are you sure about your answer?"
     I thought for a moment. My nails hadn't had been painted in years. Maybe it would be nice...maybe Zane will like it a small part of me murmured. I pretended not to hear it. "Okay, fine."

     So that was how I ended up having sky-blue fingernails. Somehow they were the exact same color as my eyes in the sun. "You know...why haven't you let me do this before?" Zara asked while we were letting the nail polish dry. "I...I don't know. I guess I just didn't want to before." I admitted, shrugging. When I looked up, her face was all hazy. I'd taken my contacts off before we did my nails, and I hadn't been wearing my glasses because they had a tendency to slip down my nose and almost fall off. Sometimes they did, in fact, fall off.
     "Ack, I can't see."
     "Here." My sister reached for my glasses case and took out my glasses, before putting them on my face. I blinked as everything came into focus. "Thanks." She smiled. "No problem."
     Out of nowhere, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Zara called over her shoulder at the sound of my parents coming down the stairs. "Thank you!" My mum called back. My back was to the door, so I couldn't see who it was.
     "Holy shit. You didn't tell me the guy you were dating was so hot." Zara said to me, walking over to the door. "I didn't think to tell you." I said, checking my nails to see if the polish was dry. It was, thank God.
     "Hello."
     "Hello."
     "Are you Naomi's sister?"
     "I am, indeed."
     "Is that her at the counter?" I suddenly wanted to hide.
     "Yep. Do you need her?"
     "Please."
     "Naomi! It's for you!" Zara called for me, although I'm sure she knew I heard the whole thing. But I reluctantly went over, taking over for my sister at the door. She walked away, but I'm sure she stayed within earshot. "Hey, love. I didn't know you wore glasses." Zane said. "Yeah, I uh.." I chuckled. "I do. I can't see that far away."
     "It's..." He paused, and I found myself worrying. Did he not like them? "They look good on you." I let out a small breath. "Thank you..." I said, blushing a tiny bit. "Anyway, I brought over your jacket. You left it in my truck yesterday." He said. "O-oh, thanks." I replied, taking the leather jacket from his hands and slipping it over my shoulders.
     "Don't sweat it." Zane said, pulling me into a hug. I froze, but an idea came to mind. Maybe I could play him...I could play him by simple flattery, and then I could get another boyfriend and leave him behind. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly, ignoring the nervousness. "You're the best." I said softly.
     He chuckled as he pulled away. "Have a good day, love. Bye." Zane said, kissing me gently on the cheek. I felt myself blush. "I love you." He whispered into my ear. "Love you too." I said. And maybe...maybe for once I found myself wanting to find the truth in my words.

     "Seriously. He himself just screams 'hey look, I'm hot come date me.'" Zara said when I walked back inside. "I think..." I couldn't figure out how to finish. You're right about that? That's why he's a player? My heart is still racing? Something is definitely wrong with me?
     "What do you think, Naomi?"
     "I...I want...Can I try on some of your old clothes? Like, from high school and stuff?"
     "Sure, but why?"
     "I..." I sat down on the ground, "what's falling in love like?"
     "I don't know. I never have. Why?"
     "I...I don't want to. It's...it would be too much for me. But Zane, he...I always feel like my normal playing techniques aren't good enough. And I..." I sighed, "I can't even hold his hand, I get so nervous around him. I wanna know if I'm falling in love. So I...so I can stop it."
     "Honey, you can't stop feelings."
     "I have magic. I can-"
     "If you are falling in love, embrace it. If it ends in tragedy, you'll be fine. You're strong. If it ends well, then that's good, right?"
     "I guess."
     "Then fall for him. You're a great girl. If you can work your charms on him, your playing ones, or the ones you don't know you have, he's bound to fall for you too. I swear." I hung my head. "I-...I'll think about it."
     "That's all I ask. And by the way, when you were talking to him, even though you probably never realized it, you were happier than I've ever seen you. Your aura was glowing." I blushed, "what...what color was it?" I asked. "Well, the spiritual was it's normal color, but if we're talking about emotional aura, then it was gold, blue, and violet. I think you know what those mean, for your own aura."
    I blushed. Nervousness, happiness and affection. My sister could see auras. She said each person's emotional aura had different colors for each emotion. Gold, for me, meant nervousness. Blue was happiness. And violet...affection...or love. "I-I-"
     "Do what you want with that knowledge. But I gotta go. Bye."
     Believe me, falling in love with Zane probably...would've been amazing. But I wasn't ready for really falling in love yet. It would be too much too fast. I stood up as my sister walked away, and exhaled slowly. I got this. All I have to do is suppress it. It'll be fine.

Famous last words Naomi.
Also is it bad I want myself a Zane now? I know that like...I technically have a crush who likes me back but...Zane is a bootiful boi. He takes amazing and ups it by 100 and then leaves you. Listen, even if he left me, he still takes amazing and makes it better, okay?
You know, I should stop. So Imma leave. Bai bai.